The Importance of Darth Revan

When we reminisce on our favorite sources of Star Wars, there are a handful that always rise to the top. Everyone reading this will know their own. Some will include comics, novels (I see Heir to the Empire mentioned all the time), and for others, including me, it's video games. I grew up with the home console wars and constant advances in hardware and gameplay. For years I pined at the home PC market and how it seemed to always have Star Wars games while consoles had practically nothing. The PS1 did have a 4-disc game of the OT and the quixotic fighter Masters of Teras Kasi, but neither really satisfied the yearning I felt for what I imagined to be the much better Star Wars offerings on PC.


Enter the Xbox. What Microsoft had done with their entry into the console market was provide a way for PC games to be easily ported to their console, and when I saw that Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy was available I had to have it. I thoroughly enjoyed Jedi Academy, and I’m glad it pushed me to get the Xbox – a harbinger for many later games that would enthrall me. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I also had a PS2 and Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, a game that I really enjoyed and think still holds up today.

That brings us to the year 2003, and this entry in the realm of Star Wars:


Knights of the Old Republic was not just an action game, but a Star Wars role playing game (RPG), which is my favorite genre. From Phantasy Star to Final Fantasy, Fable to The Elder Scrolls, I am hooked on RPGs. Let me go throw back to my first line in this article and state that Knights of the Old Republic is one of my favorite sources of Star Wars, and is just as important to me as the OT films, collecting Star Wars action figures, and most recently Andor.

So why do I hold this one game in particular in such high regard? Is it the story? Was there some new game mechanic that was revolutionary at the time? That it was the fastest selling game in Xbox history and still enjoys a 94% critical rating? No, it was something much deeper. In all other media, I’m watching someone else, reading about someone else, or in previous games controlling someone else. Knights of the Old republic allowed me to be fully immersed in the Star Wars universe, I was fully a part of it. I wasn’t Jango, or Kyle Katarn, or Luke – the main character was me. Spoilers for anyone that is unaware of this 20 year old game, but I also came to find out during the course of events that I am Darth Revan.


This was something truly extraordinary. For two plus decades at that point, I had loved Star Wars and visited that world so much, but this was the first time I felt truly a part of it. I got to be pals with my little droid T3-M4. I got to befriend Jolee Bindo. I got to reactivate and try to restrain the murderous impulses of HK-47. I determined the fate of Bastila Shan, and by extension the galaxy – and so much more.

This is why Darth Revan is such an important character to me, because it’s how I finally felt like a part of the world George Lucas presented us. An all-new Revan has been in the top of my want list for years and I’m thrilled a new one is coming soon. I know that I’m not alone because he’s always high in the list of collector request lists. He has even made it into the mainstream, lack of depth sixer line twice (!), and is so popular that he’s been released in the archive line and still carries a premium aftermarket price. Between the heritage 3.75" scale and the sixer line there are 11 figures (comprised of 6 characters) sourced from KOTOR 1 and 2. My dream for a HasLab is to get a full cast of figures from KOTOR and Darth Sion and Darth Traya from KOTOR 2. Sure, I’d love an Ebon Hawk, but it’s the characters (my friends, acquaintances, and enemies) that I truly hold dear.

I am Darth Revan, and I approve this message.

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